


Why Be Impervious When You Can Be Strong Instead

by srmiller



Category: Emerald City (TV 2016)
Genre: Anxiety, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Relationship Fluff, a little angsty, but just a teeny bit, knightgale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 01:35:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9694070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/srmiller/pseuds/srmiller
Summary: “Aunt Em put so much time and thought into this, I don’t want to put all that effort to waste just because I’m having a minor panic attack.”Lucas shifted so he was standing in front of her. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a ‘minor’ panic attack.”Dorothy looked away from the doors, intimidating in their simplicity, to meet Lucas’s eyes. “You know what I mean.”“No, I don’t,” he argued softly, taking her hand in his so their fingers linked and twisted together. “Don’t minimize what you’re going through, Dorothy. If you feel it, it matters.”





	

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who has been afraid standing in front of a door

Dorothy is fully aware it doesn’t make any sense.

She’d fought mechanical monkeys, witches, a Wizard’s Guard, and an actual Wizard, but just the idea of walking through the double doors and meeting the crowd of people on the other side was enough to make Dorothy want to find the nearest tornado.

Lucas came up beside her and he had this _knowing_ look on his face and sometimes she wished he knew her just a little less. It’d be nice if he still thought of her as this brave, impervious being from another realm instead of a sometimes shaky human with all the foibles that came with it.

“We don’t have to do this,” he reminded her, his voice intentionally casual.

“Yes, we do.” They’d had this discussion more than a few times over the course of the past few weeks and Dorothy had insisted she’d be fine to anyone who asked and she’d been so certain she would be.

Now, not so much.

“Aunt Em put so much time and thought into this, I don’t want to put all that effort to waste just because I’m having a minor panic attack.”

Lucas shifted so he was standing in front of her. “I don’t think there’s such a thing as a ‘minor’ panic attack.”

Dorothy looked away from the doors, intimidating in their simplicity, to meet Lucas’s eyes. “You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t,” he argued softly, taking her hand in his so their fingers linked and twisted together. “Don’t minimize what you’re going through, Dorothy. If you feel it, it matters.”

“I’ve killed a wizard, Lucas.”

He smiled fondly. “I know, I was there. It was very impressive.”

She couldn’t help but return his smile and the pressure in her chest was still there, just behind her heartbeat, but it eased a fraction. “It just feels like after all that a door should be easier.”

“Do you know why the wizard was easier?” he asked casually.

“Why?”

“Because we had a plan.”

Dorothy snorted and she wasn’t sure if it was his intention but the conversation was enough of a distraction she could feel the pressure in her chest ease enough she could finally take a deep breath. “That plan as you call it, lasted all of five minutes before it went to hell.”

“Maybe,” he conceded. “But it was easier, wasn’t it? Going forward knowing we had options. I was going to get West out of her prison, you were going to make sure Sylvie was safe and then we’d go after the Wizard together with your gun, my sword, and hopefully West’s magic.”

Dorothy recalled the plan they’d concocted on their way to the Emerald City. “And if we couldn’t do it, we’d make sure to burn the place down so he’d have to leave his home turf.”

Lucas moved again so he was standing next to her, still holding onto her hand. “So, I think what we need here is a plan.”

“A plan,” Dorothy repeated, and even though she sounded doubtful the idea had some merit.

“Exactly. We’ll spend an hour inside and then we’ll reassess. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed we’ll sneak out, and I very much doubt anyone would ask any questions.”

Dorothy smiled and had to concede the point to him. “But if you’re feeling better, we’ll stick around and I’ll just keep checking in every hour or so and if something happens and you feel like you can’t handle it anymore we’ll have a code word.”

“And what would our code word be?”

“It would have to be innocuous enough not to seem out of place,” he reasoned out loud. “But distinct enough it’ll stand enough.”

Dorothy thought about it for a moment. “How about a phrase? If things get to be too much I’ll ask ‘Did we remember to make an appointment with the florist?”

Lucas grinned his approval. “And a few minutes later I’ll come up with a clever reason for us to leave.”

She took a deep breath and decided she could do this. With Lucas holding her hand and a plan for just in case, she could walk through those doors and face all the people on the other side. For an hour she could pretend this is where she wanted to be, when the truth was she’d rather be in some quiet, dark place with Lucas and Toto.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

He raised her hand to his lips, a gesture so old fashioned and sweet Dorothy had originally tried hard to be irritated by it, but the truth was it charmed her every single time. “You’re a warrior Dorothy Gale.”

“I know,” she agreed but there was a trace of annoyance in the words.

“No,” and this time the word was firmer, harder. “Not for killing the Wizard and saving an entire country. For doing this.”

It was so…Dorothy’s brain fumbled for the right word. Bizarre, she decided, or maybe unreal, to have someone just accept this weird and totally inconvenient part of her. And not just accept it, but to see it as something more than a flaw to overlook.

She was terrified of a door, or rather she was terrified of what was on the other side of a door and all the ensuing expectations, but he looked at her like she was the strongest person on the planet.

“What did I do to deserve you?” and if there was awe in the question there wasn’t any helping it.

He smiled at the question, and she recognized his smiles by now to know this one was as amused as it was fond. “You were you, Dorothy. That’s all you ever needed to be.”

“Cool,” she says because she literally couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Lucas laughs as he reached for the door to open it. As they walked through-and it’s never as terrifying as Dorothy thinks it’s going to be-she admitted to herself it was nice having someone to walk through with her, having someone to be by her side and on her side.

“Before I forget, you look beautiful.”

“You’re worried you’re going to forget I’m beautiful,” Dorothy teased because she could breathe and she could smile and it wasn’t going to be this easy for the rest of the night so she was going to enjoy it while she could.

He laughed, loud and sudden. “No,” he assured her as he leaned forward to kiss her. “I could never forget that.”

“Well, you look pretty good yourself,” she commented as she tugged on the lapels of his suit jacket. He’d been more than happy to dress up for the party, but he’d drawn the line at the tie so the crisp white shirt was open at the top, its top buttons undone.

He looked amazing and she knew she looked awesome in her emerald green dress, an inside joke between her and Lucas. Together they made an impressive and hopefully intimidatingly hot couple.

But that was the last moment they had alone for a solid 45 minutes. Everyone came up to them as soon as they walked into the room, the women asked to see her ring and made the appropriate sounds at seeing the large emerald on Dorothy’s left hand.

The guys made small talk with Lucas, and he’d spent enough time in Kansas to be able to follow along and say fairly normal sounding things and then they were pulled apart.

Uncle Henry grabbed Lucas, insisting they were going to get drinks and Aunt Em pulled Dorothy aside to meet people Dorothy was pretty sure she’d already met once before.

She told the story of their engagement more times than she cared to count, and it was hard not to tell what really happened because ‘he proposed to me while in a different land, covered in blood, the dead body of a fake wizard at our feet’ was both more interesting and more truthful than ‘he flew in from England and proposed to me at baggage claim.’

“You met him while you were in the U.K.,” Dorothy’s former high school classmate asked as she tugged on Dorothy’s hand to get a better look at the ring. The touching was getting to be a problem and she looked up and tried to find Lucas in the crowd.

“Uh. Yeah. The opportunity to study at one of the best hospitals in London was too good to pass up and while I was there I met Lucas.”

“So weird,” Kelsey commented as she finally, _finally¸_ released Dorothy’s hand. “To meet someone with the same name as the town you grew up in.”

“Not that weird,” came a voice from Dorothy’s left and she immediately reached out to take Lucas’s hand, holding on tight. “She just had to cross the pond to find home.”

She was fully aware her smile was probably embarrassing, but Dorothy found she didn’t care as he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to borrow my fiancé for minute.”

Kelsey seemed mildly affronted but Dorothy happily let Lucas drag her away.

“My hero,” Dorothy thanked as he led them to a quiet corner away from the worst of the crowds. “How did you know I was on the verge of a freak out?”

“My Dorothy-Senses were tingling.”

With a laugh Dorothy pulled Lucas towards her so she could kiss him. “Excellent pop culture reference.”

“Thanks,” he grinned as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him. “How are you doing?”

“Has it been an hour already?”

Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “An hour and ten minutes.”

“Wow. Yeah, I’m doing okay.”

“That’s too bad,” Lucas murmured as he kissed her, drawing out the touch until Dorothy started to wonder if he had other things besides a party on his mind.

“It’s too bad I’m able to function at our engagement party?” she asked as he nibbled her lips, his hands sliding along the silk of her dress till it warmed beneath his fingers.

“I was really hoping I’d have to come up with an excuse to leave and then we’d have to find something else to do with the rest of our evening.”

Dorothy laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, easing into another kiss until she felt the grip Lucas held on her waist tighten. “Was there anything in particular you were thinking we could do?”

His eyes were dark as he looked at her, and this time when Dorothy felt breathless it was for good reasons only.

“I might be able to think of a thing or two,” he finally answered, his voice octaves deeper as his finger slid up her bare spine and back down again, causing a shiver to run through her body.

“Dorothy, you’re being rude.”

She started at her aunt’s voice, and was almost embarrassed she’d been so wrapped up in Lucas she hadn’t seen Em come towards them.

“Sorry,” Dorothy apologized, her cheeks warm as she dropped her arms from Lucas’s neck. He kept one arm around her waist, the caress of his thumb was a small but erotic distraction.

“Well, I want you to say hi to Marla Higgins.”

“My second grade teacher,” Dorothy asked, wondering if there was anyone her aunt hadn’t invited.

“Yes, she’s excited to see you again. You can come too, Lucas.”

Lucas’ grin was amused as he dropped his hand from Dorothy’s side, and when he leaned forward to kiss her cheek he whispered something so lascivious in her ear, her knees went week.

“Thanks for the offer, Aunt Em. But I’m going to find your husband and see what he’s up to. I’ll catch up you with later.”

Dorothy watched him walk away and wondered if she could get away with murdering him in front of a hundred people.

“Is everything all right?” Aunt Em asked when Dorothy didn’t move.

“Yeah. It’s just been a long night.”

With a knowing nod Em patted Dorothy’s arm. “Don’t worry, I won’t make you talk to everyone, but Marla was just telling me how much she enjoyed you in class and I just thought you’d like to say hi to her.”

Dorothy appreciated her aunt’s empathy. Em didn’t always understand Dorothy’s panic attacks and anxiety towards social functions, but Em tried to accommodate Dorothy’s nerves whenever she could.

“No, you’re right. Let’s go say hi, if I get too tired I’ll let you know.”

Over the next half hour Dorothy’s anxiety didn’t come back but she was becoming emotionally drained so she wound her way through the crowds, smiling and saying hi as necessary, until she got to Lucas’s side.

He was talking to one of the farmers whom he’d met once before and it was always such a surprise to her how well he fit in this world that wasn’t his.

“Lucas?”

“Hey,” he greeted, raising his arm so she could tuck herself against him. “I was about to get another drink, want one?’

“Yes, please.”

They made their excuses and started moving towards the bar. “You don’t really want a drink, do you?”

“Yes, but not here.”

He pressed a kiss against her temple. “Ready to go?”

“Please.”

“You’re doing all right though?” he double checked as he led them towards a side door they could sneak out of.

“Just drained.”

Lucas drove them back to the hotel where he was staying but before he could reach for the door handle Dorothy leaned across the console of the car and kissed him.

“I thought you were tired,” he whispered between increasingly heated kisses.

Dorothy shook her head, the words he’d whispered earlier echoing in her head till the want built to desperation. “Drained,” she corrected, voice on the edge of breathless. “I just want you.”

“Handy that is,” he smiled as he ran his hand through her hair. “I just want you too.”


End file.
